Mayo GAA news, views and over a century of results

3.30pm throw-in time for Fermanagh match

There’s still no official confirmation from the GAA on this but my understanding is that Saturday’s Round 2B qualifier clash with Fermanagh at MacHale Park will definitely have a throw-in time of 3.30pm. In addition, while there’s no official confirmation of this yet from RTÉ, I also gather that the match is being broadcast live by them that afternoon.

I guess we’ll get definitive word on both the start time and the broadcasting arrangements at some point before the day is out.

Hallelujah at least we have a time. Not ideal for those who work or have job’s to do on a Saturday. I will be able to make it thankfully. As someone mentioned, it probably works out better for Fermanagh fans traveling down for it.

while all focus should be only on Fermanagh, I saw the following “Map to Sam” on Hoganstand and thought it might be of interest here. Show’s how difficult our path back to a potential quarter is going to be:

The route is treacherous alright. Whoever gets through to the Quarters on this side will have earned it. Along with the luck of the draw, home advantage will be huge. I assume that whoever wins between Ross and Galway have a very handy route to the semis?

One game at a time, in theory we should be able to beat fermanagh but the form we’ve shown this year is septic so it could be dodgy, players need to go out and make a statement. I would’nt go releasing the young guns yet, we need wily old foxes like Andy and Freeman to guide us through a tough nordie defence. Horses for courses at this stage.

Nothing is certain in sport but say Kildare Monaghan Cork and Mayo win then the best draw you could hope from that would be to play Kildare in Castlebar. The best chance then would be to draw the Leinster runner up… but it dosn’t matter what way ya slice it.. if you were to reach the quarters on the B side of the draw then there’s no avoiding it.. and in truth if these guys want to win Sam then there was never going to be any avoiding it.. we’re going to have to beat the best at some point anyway

Route to semi’s looks tough, but, any team wishing to get past semi’s, should be able to beat all these teams, be it, home or away.
On the plus side, think of all they will learn, about themselves, along the way.
Lets get over Fermanagh, first, which will be difficult, if we stay at the same level of intensity, that we were at, against Galway.
On team selection, in view of the injury to Ger Cafferkey, I would suggest, that Donal Vaughan, could be used in the full back position, especially, if Kevin Keane’s, lack of pace,is an issue, which could be found out, by fast , pacey, forwards, in future games.
Now is the time , to sort these issues.
These qualifier games, are far better than playing challenge games, and if we get through them, we will have a battle hardened team.
Good luck to all involved.
Hope we have good support Sat.

One game at a time we shouldn’t fear anyone in the back door if we go out and play like we used to. All I want from Mayo this year is that they die with their boots on and leave everything on the pitch i think they can win Saturday but to lose wouldn’t be the end of the world we are going to have to rebuild a few areas anyway

The road to possible redemption starts here. It doesn’t matter who you draw, any team you meet from now on simply has to be taken out. It’s the same thing to meet them now rather than August/September.

In saying that, Fermanagh at home is the best draw we could have hoped for. It’s gives us a test but with the cushion of home advantage. A win, combined with a good performance from us, will see a slight bit of momentum being built and then it’s just a matter of trying to rinse and repeat as we go forward. The goal is to get into the Quarters with confidence and sharpness No team will want us with a few wins under our belt come August. While it is going to be very difficult, I expect a positive reaction from the players and hopefully we can get back up and running. Really looking forward to Saturday now.

I’m just after taking a first proper look at the championship draw and realising how much of a cock-up it was to lose to Galway. Our side of the draw now is stacked with dangerous teams whereas the winners of the Connacht final are all but guaranted a semi final spot the AI side is so weak!

Time is just to suit tv but no complaints. First off, Freeman is no wily old fox and has never fulfilled his obvious potential. As for Vaughan at fb, let’s just leave it there. Keane should be a perfect fit for Quigley. Route to Croker is a real minefield but nobody would fancy pulling us out of the hat, provided we get back on track against Fermanagh. Hopefully talk of ructions in the Mayo camp are exaggerated

I’ve always felt that there’s an immence difference between a win and a glorious earned really worthwhile win.I d prefer to hear people talking about performance now at this stage when we are perched on a very steep spiked precipice. A slip up here and we ll be saying goodbye to a lot of height…get over the top and the new air and views could be simply intoxicating.

Not that it should matter but why is there an Ulster ref down for this match? surely Leinster or Munster to have no question of neutrality ?but saying that we could do without the lad from cork again not to mention the lad from Meath
Mcquillan is one of the better ones

Like the song says ‘ one day at a time’, its one game at a time for Mayo going forward.
Then its ‘a long and winding road’ to Croker.
However, the hardship will be worth it in the end.
We must keep the faith and mature enough to take knocks along the way.

Our only consolation at the moment is that we are still in the race, as the saying goes, beggars can’t be choosers. We’ll see how it goes but you’d have to think that there is at least one final sting left in the Mayo wasp. It would be a very sad way for this team to end their journey without one big last hurrah this year. Roll on the game!

Personally I am reserving judgment on AI credentials until after Saturday as a major improvement is needed in a number of areas and attitudes before being mentioned in the same bracket as Dublin, Kerry, Tyrone.

Im not a fan of the sweeper system mainly due to the fact that a lot of the time its not required and beacuse we have a difficult time adapting to one. However Saturday is one of those times that it will be needed. Fermanagh will target Quigley all day and we must have someone there to pick up breaking balls, give Keane the option of knocking it down knowing someone is there. If his only option is to challange to catch the ball then sooner or later it will end badly. Also the sweeper must be a deep lying number 6, enough of this robbing peter to pay paul removing a forward to play a sweeper.

Mayo played with 3 recognised forwards v Galway. This needs to change. Four scoring forwards and two attacking workers in the forward line.

AOS to midfield please with the 45 as the line not to cross. Also offloading the ball prior to contact would be nice for a change.

when one considers that last year our fullback line was deemed weak and let in soft goals since then we’ve lost what I consider our best 3 of that line – Cunniffe, caff and Barrett, then maybe it’s time Rochford put his stamp on this team and come up with a new line. I’m afraid Keane lacks the pace required, Harrison is ok but untested but will fill one spot and Maybe Higgins although he’s not tight enough so who fills the void?? I think he needs to re-design the defence, put Harrison and keegan as man markers, b Moran as sweeper. boyle and coen as sitting half backs and Higgins and durcan as attacking wing backs. Keegan has shown against Connolly how he can man mark. AOS and parsons midfield with AOS sitting back, d o’c, cillian, Kevin half forward with freeman and Reagan inside. Pace all over the team.

Fermanagh can smell that our goose is cooked and will come with the same unbridled will to win and intensity that Galway brought two weeks ago. Some people getting ahead of themselves yet again as if the lessons from June 18th weren’t harsh enough. Have the players and management learned their lessons and have had sufficient time to shift the paradigm on game plan and individual performance levels?? That’s the billion dollar question to be answered by 5pm on Saturday.

Actually think Keane is perfect full back for saturday . He likes the physical stuff ,, don’t see wholesale changes the next day … A lot will depend on injuries clearing up ,, hopefully doc will start and Keith in the corner, mid field is key as we found out the last day ,, Fermanagh will be looking forward to testing us both mentally and physically.. Think our bucks will rise to the challenge and as supporters we should get there in huge numbers and get behind this special group that has given us so much entertainment our the last 5 years ,, .reckon we owe them that much !

Mayomad, if going to put Aiden in midfield, you have to drop SOS or Tom Parsons, I really doubt AOS is as good as Seamus or Tom at midfield. SOS was out with injury for a while before coming on for Jason Gibbons, Seamus wasn’t great I know but that game should have brought him on. That’s assuming certain things have been ironed out in the Mayo gaa camp, this last few weeks. I refer to any issue that might have contributed to such a lack luster effort by Mayo V Galway, players, management and tactics! Tom has been our top midfielder now for about two years, he also had an excellent league. One of the few,as did Ger Caff, sadly out for the time being with injury, Diarmod O Connor and Evan Regan. Now if fully fit Diarmod has to start. That in itself means someone is going to be dropped. If it was up to me I’d drop AOS, his form has been such going back 10 competitive matchs that Mayo would be a better team without him. If we need an alternative at midfield I’d have Barry Moran, or indeed Matthew Ruane, don’t think Matthew is on the Mayo panel but surely someone has to come in for Jason Gibbons. I agree with you about our blanket defence, I don’t like it, The blanket had its time, but now I have think we are behind the learning curve, with our version of blanket and sweeper and our offensive game suffers as a result. I would also start Freezer, a very natural Full Foward. However I sincerely doubt that AOS will be dropped, can’t see that happening.

Another big injury for Mayo according to Mayo news tweet. I hope this is not serious.

We seem to be getting a lot of injuries. I wonder is it symptomatic of the long road these lads have been on for the last six years or is it due to the training load this year or perhaps just a coincidence that they are all happening together.

Anyone know who this injury could be?

Interesting message Ger Bohan. I won’t ask who was on A team but I guess we’ll see Saturday.

Alot seemed off against galway and attitudes need to right saturday. I honestly have to say im not confident this year i think alot of baggage being dragged along and alot of current panel not good enough. 2013 was the year for horans men so i believe an overhaul will sooner or later take place. Anyhow try to stay positive and comment on Fermanagh game. We need to push up on saturday and take the game by scruff of the neck. The only sweeper i want to hear about is the guy the sweeps the dressing rooms. We were so conservative against galway allowing them to settle and that should not happen again. There is no more talk of dublin now so the pressure is off in that regard. Fermanagh have a big centre forward in ryan jones so his height needs to be counter acted. im gonna have a stab at team selection

Id give aiden the job at centre of defence he will be able for jones and cut off that kick out option from fermanagh point of view. I think andys best days are gone but he plundered a load of scores for the club recently and confidence is a big thing for a forward. He can also show some leadership. We need to play with more abandon and dont let fermanagh settle. Composure and calmness is order of the day

Oh, it’s serious alright Cod if my source is correct, at least for this weekend. Poxy injuries plaguing us again but then, what’s new – look at our past few years where we have lost Andy, Cillian, Ger for lengthy periods – some of our top, top names. I just hope this is a short-term injury.

Don’t know how to feel about this game. I still feel a bit sideways after the Galway game – it might be uncharted territory for some of these lads but this uncertainty sure as hell feels unfamiliar to some of the rest of us too! It just goes to show what a fantastic run we’ve had when you almost start taking that consistency for granted.

I refuse to believe this is the end of the road though – there is too much quality in there and too much drive. Time will tell.

Thanks Ann Marie. Doesn’t sound good but at least it seems short term.

I have finally started thinking about the weekend and am quite positive about it. The three week break will have given us a chance to refocus. The time is running out for a lot of this squad and they will know that. Hence I expect them to throw everything at these qualifiers.

The injury news will be revealed in the papers tomorrow so let’s leave it till then. As Anne-Marie says it’s a significant one, though from what I hear not a season-ending one. Just one more problem for us to deal with, I’m afraid.

Having watched the game a few times at this stage and I think complacency was a huge factor.The basic skill from our guys of trying to pick the ball off the turf was something to behold. The heads defo weren’t right. Cillian shooting from ridiculous angles when he’s supposed to be our most intelligent forward.Lets start with the keeper.David Clarke has been the best keeper we produced since Peter Burke and has been so unlucky with injury.Hes far more reliable under the high ball than Hennelly and is just as good a shot stopper.Hennelly may have the better kickout but there is certainly question marks over that now.Chris Barrett is actually a huge loss.He was our best defender in championship 15 and he would have given Higgins the freedom to go to 10 where i think he should be stationed.Our best ever corner back but i think his awareness was questioned last two years in that role. Get Caff was playing the football of his life during the league and is a huge loss as the jury still out on kevin Keane. The half back lines picks themselves.Midfield is Parsons, and quite hesidently Seamus O Shea who needs to learn how to stop carrying the ball into the tackle.His brother needs to do the same. As i stated earlier I would prefer Higgins at 10 but it’s looking like we are going to have to sacrifice him again at 4.Aido needs to be stationed at 11.Its his best position but he has to let the ball go quicker and stop taking to much out of the ball.At 12 the best half forward in the country Diarmuid.Enough said a real special talent. Full forward line Regan gets another go because of his work rate the last day but there are still huge question marks if there’s a good tight corner back up on top of him.Cillian is our leader the main man and also our sharpshooter and this is why i would throw a big man in beside him like a Barry Moran or one of the midfielders .I agree with Jim Mcguinnees here.Rotate it why not.Parsons come in Barry go out etc and have Cillian and Regan peeling off them.We need a plan B because opposition know that when they have us on the ropes they know all we have is throw Aido on the edge of the square and hope for the best.We look very mediocre when we do this because he has no protection and no one peeling off him.Lads Alan Dillon and Andy Moran unreal servants and great players but there impact players at this stage.I think with Cafferkey gone we need to look at Coen for full back as Keane is not guaranteed to stay injury free .I still think providing the problems are rectified we can still be playing football in August and September.The whole sweeper role needs to be looked at with Kevin Mc Loughlin who will get on a lot of ball breaking out at speed but he needs to understand the role better but has the potential.Its been a huge problem for us the last few years even the magical boyle couldn’t solve it.Onwards and upwards but i would expect a 5 to 6 point win on Saturday.

Well I hope it’s not Higgins, Parsons,AoS or Regan or Cillian or his brother or the man from Knockmore.
But anyway, it’s another way of showing the quality of a team and v often a team reacts positively to adverse conditions like missing a player or people having doubts about their true worth.
No doubt the team is well aware they made a poor show of it last time out.

All I can say is fcuk it as regards injuries, We could do without more bad news. Since the day in Cork I had a bad feeling about this year and I still have it and I don’t know why. I hope they can get their act together on Saturday.

The injury has the potential to be season ending if the rest of them don’t shape up big time Saturday. I don’t see how people can say home advantage is a bonus – look at the record in MacHale Park this year

Hello,
Curious about the injury but i do not think an injury to one player will be the deciding factor in this match. It is more likely to give someone an opportunity.
Now, Tyrone are clear 3rd Favourites with PP at 6/1 with Mayo pushef out to 12/1. Might put a fiver on them – mayo.
Would Dublin, Kerry, Tyrone get into a huff over an injury? or Galway or Roscommon.
I watched 1. or 2 Euros game and subsequent analysis. All i seemed to hear about was protecting the Centre against easy penetration, tracking back and Sweeper systems and who to play up front. Are we all brainwashed?
I am just happy that this team has another chance. There never has been a Mayo team like it and if things don’t go well this year a new beginning will be easier.
I notice that Cluxton makes mistakes as do other goalkeepers. Some result in goals. It is very easy to criticise the last line of defence as it is to criticise the lack of scoring forwards. This Mayo team was built on ferocious tackling and an attempt to improve ball skills with an attacking half back line. Now we have additional players and i hope they go for this again this year. Either the players can do it or they can’t. If not, then start building again. The players must know what works for them now.
I do hope Andy Moran gets his chance and i kinda like Tougnup’s team.

Pity the draw for the 2017 championship hasn’t been made so that some of the above could plot our path to that final as well. Seriously WTF!!!!!!
Have we already forgotten what happened v a Galway side that did not have to play out of its skin to beat us. Reality check please. Plotting success after a win is one thing, but blindly plotting success after a massive loss is nothing short of delusional.
As supporters we have had many consecutive years now of bitter, bitter disappointments and going by the lack of vocal support the last day, maybe these disappointments are taking their toll.
On the field maybe these disappointments, coupled with the many hard years of training are finally taken their toll also.
So for Saturday both supporters and players need to completely change our attitudes or else we’ll be looking for alternative summer pastimes.
She may have cleared her throat but the fat lady hasn’t started singing yet.
Let’s keep her quiet for at least another week, support your county, all together now ‘one day at a time sweet Jesus…..”.

How true, we get an injury and it’s curtains for the year. Have we no replacement doing a bit of training in the wings? Or are we that naive ?
And about the years, it 4 or 5 and they are prime aged athletes just like Dublin and Kerry, they are well able to fight on and do great things for themselves. The last thing they need is pity or excuses from fans that they’re past it, get out and fight

Good man dave, thats the spirit. Im all for the one game at a time at this stage but some need reminding, five semi finals on the trot, two finals and the best team of all time (according to some)needed a replay to beat us only 10 months or so ago.

Lets get behind them please. I undersatnd the fear of failure after such a massive journey. But We have a duty as supporters to row in behind them now.
Pride man ffs, we are Mayo and we are going to burst all around us on our way to croker. Come on Mayo.

We have a big panel and whoever gets in should view it as an opportunity to find a place in the team. Disagree with AOS at Centre back but would prefer him in midfield to his Bro who was just back for the Galway game though 3 weeks back since might help him. However that assumes we have someone to fill all the half forward places. Coen can play at 3, 6 or 9 so if injuries in any of these areas he can fill and Vaughan is vastly experienced and can play a number of positions though maybe an inch or 2 short for intercounty midfield despite his upper body strength.
Agree with suggestions of deep playing no 6 rather than sweeper and midfield can fill that space though prefer Tom P who is mobile and has a big engine to be more in that role though games are fluid so whoever is furthest back if midfield and half forwards covers any time we are forced to defend.
Also would like the game plan to allow our half backs to storm forward, not all the time but it is one if our strengths and half forwards can cover the gaps should a move break down. Would like Keith in forwards but we may be too thin on the ground in FB line so needs must and prefer fairly low risk selection meaning Andy or Freeman plays or indeed Dillon if the injured player is a forward. Young guns will get a chance anyway as it’s a 20 man game now. I would like to see Durkan play though, as he shows signs of being a star defender. Quiet last day but did nothing wrong, 2nd chance for him I think will yield positive results.
Finally would like to see our hard tackling and turnover count go up as this was missing the last day. It’s an area Mayo have excelled at these years, another of our strengths so would be great to see some more if that.

The odd poster here reckons we need a sweeper for this game. We don’t need a sweeper. In fact we need Kevin Mac in around the 50 picking up the dirty ball, doing what he is best at.

I also wouldn’t be worried about midfield. With Clarke in goals he has a higher trajectory on his kick outs which lead to more breaking ball in midfield, we are one of the best in the country at winning the breaking ball (as long as the right players are playing in the right place).